Friedman students help Liberian school

A small, impoverished school in an African village is receiving help from halfway across the globe to build a roof and a bathroom through the efforts of middle school students in Taunton.

Friedman Middle School students are nearly finished collecting funds for their “Rebuilding the Village School” project to help provide badly needed improvements to a school in Gbesseh, a village in Liberia. In addition to the efforts at Friedman Middle School, the Taunton school district recently agreed to donate five boxes of old math books, after the district adopted new math curriculum last week, said sixth-grade teacher Nancy LeClair, who helped organize the campaign.

“We thought it’d be good for the students to have some global connection and realized not everyone has what we have here in America,” LeClair said.

The effort started last year after a nonprofit called Mission to Liberia first sent a request to the Taunton public schools asking for school books. LeClair said she wanted to take it another step further, with the support of her superiors, and last year the Taunton students raised money to send the village a goat, which was then named Friedman in honor of the Taunton school.

The latest drive ended June 6, with Friedman Middle School students collecting $2,000, which will be used toward roof construction, a latrine and school supplies, LeClair said. Once the school is renovated, it will be named Friedman Africa, LeClair said.

Marisa Gay, 11, who is a student in Wendy Hasson’s fifth-grade class, set up a donation center with her friends.

“Basically, everyone chipped in,” Gay said. “We wanted to do something to help. We feel we are making a difference in the world. It’s good. We like to help.”

Courtney Coppinger, 11, one of Gay’s fifth-grade classmates, agreed.

“They don’t have what we have,” she said.

Throughout the school, there are signs on the walls in hallways and on classroom doors, that say, “Rebuilding the Village,” and, “We can make a difference.” A sign above the water fountain says, “Can you imagine not having clean water to drink?”

Students in LeClair’s class and other classes also started to make crafts and sell them to support the campaign, including T-shirts, jewelry and other trinkets. This also served as a sort of “mini-economics” lesson, LeClair said.

Juliana Therrien, a fifth-grader, made bows with classmates to sell to other students to wear and to help raise money.

“I feel good because we got to help people who don’t have as many things as us,” Therrien said.

LeClair said she hopes to continue the Liberia project next year.

Other Friedman students said that they are now more grateful for the school they attend here in Taunton, and that they are glad to get involved.

“Well, it’s a really good idea for kids to get into community service at a young age,” said Skyla Nicol, 12. “They (the Liberian schoolchildren) are students like us, but in way different situations from what we are in. We get to discover what the rest of the world is doing other than just here in our own town.”

Darcy Coute, another teacher at the school, said that the students in her class took initiative in the project. Especially, she said, because the project provided ice cream socials to classes if they raised at least $100.

“They really took control,” Coute said. “They did everything on their own.”

Friedman Principal Kathy Perry said the campaign helped bring the school together and promoted strong character traits.